How awesome! BMW’s mini muscle car revealed

How do you make car companies rich? Drip-feed upgrades over several years so buyers come back for more than one.

This formula is not exclusive to BMW but it helps explain why there is an updated M5 sedan just a year after it went on sale - and its smaller sibling, the angry-looking M2, now comes with a big helping of extra power after just two-and-a-half years in the market.

The M5 has risen from $199,900 to $229,900. Its twin turbo 4.4-litre V8 gets a touch more power but no more torque, to 460kW/750Nm.

The suspension has been lowered and retuned, a carbon-fibre roof is now standard (the sunroof option comes with a metal roof) and BMW has found a way to pump more engine and exhaust noise into the cabin.

Backed by a conventional eight-speed auto and with all-wheel drive, the V8 clocks 3.3 seconds for the 0 to 100km/h sprint, trimming 0.1 sec from the previous version and - thanks to the AWD - more likely to be repeatable.

The M5 Competition’s engine has seen a slight power bump.

BMW staged a preview drive at Sydney Motorsport Park to explore and exploit the potential of these epic machines, under the guidance of professional race drivers, led by recent Bathurst 1000 winner Steven Richards.

The race aces led the way and yelled instructions over the radio - which the engine road drowned out. The M2 and M5 have long legs when it comes to straight-line power but the M5 is in another league when it comes to climbing out of corners, the outstanding AWD making mere mortals appear halfway competent.

The M5 blends luxury sedan with manic performance.

The M2 is still an engaging and at times twitchy beast. Its short wheelbase and ample outputs make it too easy to overpower the grip from the rear tyres.

On both cars, the suspension felt firm even on a smooth racetrack. Perhaps that's why we were here and not on public roads.